Related papers: The scaling density of axion strings
String theory posesses numerous axion candidates. The recent realization that the compactification radius in string theory might be large means that these states can solve the strong CP problem. This still leaves the question of the…
We revisit the isocurvature density perturbations induced by quantum fluctuations of the axion field by extending a recently developed analytic method and approximations to a time-dependent scalar potential, which enables us to follow the…
Axions are one of the most attractive dark matter candidates. The evolution of their number density in the early universe can be determined by calculating the topological susceptibility $\chi(T)$ of QCD as a function of the temperature.…
A QCD axion with a decay constant below $ 10 ^{ 11} ~{\rm GeV} $ is a strongly-motivated extension to the Standard Model, though its relic abundance from the misalignment mechanism or decay of cosmic defects is insufficient to explain the…
Axion cosmology is reexamined taking into account effect of kinetic pseudo Nambu-Goldstone modes, with its importance recently pointed out. When Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry is broken by a chiral U(1) singlet, it is found that the effect of…
We review searches for closed string axions and axion-like particles (ALPs) in IIB string flux compactifications. For natural values of the background fluxes and TeV scale gravitino mass, the moduli stabilisation mechanism of the LARGE…
We implement the scenario of early relaxation of the axion via a high scale confinement within $SU(5)$ grand unified theory and study an epoch of strong QCD in inflationary cosmology. We consider scenarios in which, during inflation, the…
We investigate the possibility that the Peccei-Quinn phase transition occurs at a temperature far below the symmetry breaking scale. Low phase transition temperatures are typical in supersymmetric theories, where symmetry breaking fields…
Flaton models of Peccei-Quinn symmetry have good particle physics motivation, and are likely to cause thermal inflation leading to a well-defined cosmology. They can solve the $\mu$ problem, and generate viable neutrino masses. Canonical…
We investigate cosmic string networks in the Abelian Higgs model using data from a campaign of large-scale numerical simulations on lattices of up to $4096^3$ grid points. We observe scaling or self-similarity of the networks over a wide…
We embed natural inflation in an explict string theory model and derive observables in cosmology. We achieve this by compactifying the type IIB string on a Calabi-Yau orientifold, stabilizing moduli via the Large Volume Scenario, and…
We consider extensions of the Standard Model in which a spontaneously broken global chiral Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry arises as an accidental symmetry of an exact $Z_N$ symmetry. For $N = 9$ or $10$, this symmetry can protect the accion -…
Axion fluctuations generated during inflation lead to isocurvature and non-Gaussian temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background radiation. Following a previous analysis for the model independent string axion we consider the…
String theory has been claimed to give rise to natural fuzzy dark matter candidates in the form of ultralight axions. In this paper we revisit this claim by a detailed study of how moduli stabilisation affects the masses and decay constants…
Cosmic strings can be created in the early universe during symmetry-breaking phase transitions, such as might arise if the gauge structure of the standard model is extended by additional U(1) factors at high energies. Cosmic strings present…
We study the production of loops in the cosmic string network in the expanding background by means of a numerical simulation exact in the flat-spacetime limit and first-order in the expansion rate. We find an initial regime characterized by…
We introduce a class of unified supersymmetric axion theories with unified and PQ symmetries broken by the same set of fields at a scale $\sim 2\times 10^{16}$ GeV. A typical domain wall number of order 30 leads to an axion decay constant…
We revisit the cosmological aspects of axion models. In the high-scale inflation scenario, the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry is likely to be restored during/after inflation. If the curvature of the PQ scalar potential at the origin is smaller…
We study the minimal requirements to obtain axion strings for axions with exponentially good quality. These ingredients appear in theories where an axion coming from a higher-form gauge field mixes with the phase of a complex scalar field…
The possibility of the "invisible" axion being cold dark matter relies on the acceptable estimates of the current axion energy density. The estimate depends on the nature of QCD phase transition at a few hundred MeV and the evolution of the…